Kazakh airline QAZAQ AIR is to resume regular flights on the Turkistan-Samarkand route, effective from May 1, 2025.
Services will be operated twice a week according to the following schedule (all local times):
Thursdays:
- Departure from Turkistan at 19:10, arrival in Samarkand at 20:00.
- Departure from Samarkand at 21:00, arrival in Turkistan at 21:50.
Sundays:
- Departure from Turkistan at 10:10, arrival in Samarkand at 11:00.
- Departure from Samarkand at 12:00, arrival in Turkistan at 13:00.
The route also provides connecting flights with QAZAQ AIR to Astana, with onward connecting flights departing from Turkistan for the capital of Kazakhstan.
The news came soon after Samarkand International Airport announced a further expansion of its direct route network with services to Baku and Krasnoyarsk. Azerbaijan Airlines is to operate two flights a week to Baku Wednesdays and Sundays, while Ural Airlines is to introduce direct flights to Krasnoyarsk every Tuesday. Both services commence on 1st April.
Ulugbek Shamsikulov, CEO of Air Marakanda, said, "The resumption of services between Samarkand and Turkistan, provides an important link between two spiritual and historical centers. This route also strengthens the commercial and business links between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.”
He added, “Overseas visitors to Samarkand can enjoy the modern tourism infrastructure that has been carefully curated to help showcase the historic treasures that are housed in one of the world’s oldest cities. An increasing number of tourists are recognizing the treasures in Samarkand and our neighboring areas of Urumqi, Xi'an, Baku, Mineralnye Vody, Sochi and Izmir, locations that offer such rich historical heritage.”
